My Missing Puzzle Piece
by KindOfANinja
Summary: Kurt and Blaine meet at 6 years old and a bond is created between them that nothing can break. But what happens when they grow older and their friendships begins to turn into something more, but to this world their feelings are a lie, just a disease?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Sorry it's short, next chapter will be longer, I promise, an I should have that up by tomorrow (well, later today I guess, since it's past midnight here) but I'm going on holiday for week then so I'll continue writing there and update when I get back.**

**Disclaimer:**** Glee's not mine, I'm going to cry now, but it means you can't sue me, so, yeah. **

Chapter 1

"What's wrong?" asked a young boy, leaning over the fence to see the sobbing figure. It was a boy who looked around the same age as him, sitting on the ground, head down, legs crossed.

"My mommy's s-sick," the boy whimpered, "she fell down for no reason today and they took her away to a h- hos- hospippal."

"Hospital?" the other boy offered, and the sobbing boy nodded.

"Yeah, and daddy said she was r-really sick and won't be home for a few days." by now, the boy's loud sobs had died down but his shoulders were still shaking violently. Seeing how upset he was, the other boy jumped over the fence and put an arm around him.

"It'll be ok, don't worry. My name's Blaine." he said, offering his hand to shake.

"Kurt." the crying boy took his hand and shook it politely, he was taught b be very well mannered at a young age, after all.

"I like that name, Kurt." Blaine exclaimed happily, trying out the name to see how it sounded on his lips.

Kurt giggled quietly, "I like the name Blaine, too." he smiled weakly.

"Do you want to play in my garden next door?" asked Blaine.

Kurt nodded, "let me just ask my daddy." He ran inside the house behind him, and Blaine used his time to think about this boy, Kurt. He had soft-looking chestnut hair, as opposed to Blaine's unruly, dark brown curls, and he didn't really know what color Kurt's eyes were, while he was sure his were greenish-brown, hazel, his mommy said. They didn't even dress the same, Blaine thought Kurt dressed very prettily, and he was just a little bit scruffy.

Blaine frowned. From what he'd seen so far, it really didn't seem like he had enough in common with him for Kurt to want to be his friend. But maybe he was six too, like Blaine was.

As he thought about this, Kurt wandered out of his house's front door with a big (yet, granted, still slightly watery) grin on his face. The curly-haired boy snapped out of his train of deep thought, and saw that the sad boy was back, but wasn't looking so sad anymore.

"My daddy says I can come over, as long as I'm back by lunchtime." Kurt told him, rocking back and forth excitedly on the balls of his feet. Blaine's face split into an overjoyed smile.

"Come on then" he encouraged and hopped back over the fence. The young boy turned around again to see Kurt still standing on the other, worrying his lip between his teeth. Blaine tilted his head to the side, confused. 'Maybe he doesn't want to come over' Blaine thought, and then panicked, but his fears subsided as Kurt opened his front gate and walked around the fence to Blaine's garden on the other side.

"I didn't want to get my clothes dirty." he explained sheepishly. Blaine simply grinned and led him towards where a scattering of toys lay on the ground.

In this world, when two people meet, a connection is instantly formed, whether it's good or bad depends on what one person makes of the other, and whether they meet again and whether the connection lasts, well that's simply up to fate. But what if it's written that these people are destined to remain together, whether as friends or more than that, for the rest of their lives? When this happens, this is when a bond is formed that cannot be broken by hell or high waters, this is when one person becomes incomplete without the other, as if they are two parts of a jigsaw puzzle. This is the point where true friendship and true love are formed.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here's the next chapter, like I promised. I'm literally leaving to go on holiday in 5 minutes, so sorry if there's any errors, I didn't have time to proof read. I won't be able to update until next week unless the caravan site has wifi, but I'll continue writing while I'm there and update as soon as I get back. Oh and this chapter's much longer than the last one. **

Chapter 2

Kurt looked towards the upstairs window of his house when he heard his father calling him. Burt was leaning out slightly with a displeased look on his face, he'd been calling Kurt for ten minutes already.

"Oh, I guess my lunch is ready. It's been really fun playing with you, Blaine." he sighed.

"You too, Kurt, see you soon?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah."

As Kurt left his garden, Blaine couldn't help but think what a great friend he'd made today. Kurt was funny, and not really a sad boy at all, like Blaine had originally thought, and he liked some of the same things as Blaine did, although he was more interested in clothes than Power Rangers. Kurt was kind and sweet and Blaine hoped his mommy would get better soon so he could be happy all the time, because he was pretty when he was happy. He'd also found out that Kurt _was_ six like him, and he liked dressing up and playing house like Blaine too, so they really did have plenty in common. Blaine didn't really have many other friends, all the kids in his old kindergarten teased him and called him a girl, because he liked playing dress up and he spent time with Rachel and Brittany. Kurt didn't tease him, Kurt was the nicest boy Blaine has ever met and after much thought, he decided that yes, Kurt Hummel was his best friend.

Burt Hummel looked out at the sight in the Andersons' garden; Kurt and Blaine still talking and playing even though he'd called him many times in the last ten minutes. Yes, he was a little annoyed at this but he couldn't help smiling at the two boys sitting together on the grass. Kurt had such a hard time making friends in school, kids would pick on him for the littlest of things, his clothes, his toys, in fact, the only real friend he had there was Mercedes, so of course his father was pleased when he befriended Blaine from next door. They seemed to be having such a great time together, Burt thought, it was a pity he had to call him in really, but of course, he could always go out and play again after lunch before they went to visit Elizabeth in hospital later.

Thinking of Elizabeth, Burt felt tears start to prick behind his eyes, they both knew she didn't have long left, the cancer was too far along by now. In fact it was too far along months ago, when she was first diagnosed, and it was a miracle she'd made it this far. Back then, the doctors said they could try chemotherapy, but at the very most it would give her an extra month or two, and in her eyes, it wasn't worth it, it would terrify Kurt, seeing how truly ill she was, and it would force them to accept that she could no longer live a normal life, let alone a happy one. So she decided to let the illness take its course.

When she was diagnosed, they told her she would have around five months to live.

That was four months ago.

Kurt and Burt ate their lamb casserole ready-meals in silence- Burt never really was much of a cook- usually they would be chatting away with each other, but the conversations were always fueled by Elizabeth's energy and passion, and the truth was, without his mom, Kurt found he had nothing to say, and without Elizabeth, Burt found he just didn't feel inclined to say anything.

They continued like this throughout the entire meal, just silence, until, as they were clearing up Kurt asked, "can I go and see Blaine again, daddy?".

Burt nodded his permission and added, "but remember, we're going to see mommy in one hour ok?"

Kurt squealed in delight at the thought of seeing his mother and rushed out the door to see his new friend. Burt just stood in awe of his energy and excitement before shaking his head and going to wash the dishes.

When Kurt got back to Blaine's garden, the first thing he noticed was that Blaine was still sitting outside on the grass, in the same place he was when he left.

"Why are you just sitting there, Blaine? Wasn't it time for your lunch too?" Kurt asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Blaine shrugged. "Mommy and daddy are shouting again, so mommy forgot to make lunch today."

Kurt frowned, you should eat up every meal to make you grow big and strong, that's what his mommy told him, so why didn't Blaine's mommy think so too?

"Wait here." the chestnut-haired boy said, and he rushed back to his house on the other side of the fence. No more than twenty seconds later, he emerged again, holding two large, soft jam doughnuts. Walking back around, he offered one to Blaine, who just stared at him as if he'd offered him a lifetime supply of ice-cream.

"Well go on," Kurt said, "take it."

Hesitantly, Blaine reached for the sugary treat and took a cautious bite out of it. Chewing, his face lit up in delight.

"This is amazing!" he exclaimed, between mouthfuls.

Kurt was about to ask if he'd ever had a doughnut before, but decided against it, seeing as Blaine was enjoying it so much, and just sat down beside him and began to eat his own.

An hour later, Burt wandered over to next door's front garden to collect his son, and saw Kurt and Blaine running in circles across the grass, chasing each other.

"Come on Kurt, it's time to go now." he called softly over to the little boy.

Kurt turned to Blaine and explained that he was going to see his mommy now, but he would see him again tomorrow. As he was about to leave, Kurt had a thought.

"Blaine, come and meet my daddy!" he all but yelled. Before he could object, Kurt took Blaine by the hand and half-led, half dragged him to where his father was standing.

"Daddy this is my best friend, Blaine," hearing that he was Kurt's best friend too, he grinned widely, he was over the moon that Kurt seemed to like him as much as he liked the other boy,

"Blaine this is my daddy, Burt." all of a sudden, Blaine was extremely shy, his mouth felt dry and he was at a loss for words.

"H-hello, " He stammered, cheeks growing red with embarrassment. The big man chuckled,

"Nice to meet you, Blaine" and shook his tiny hand.

As they approached the hospital, Kurt's shoulders began to droop. He was about to see his mommy again, but he also knew that this was the place they took sick people. His mommy was sick, he told himself, and when you're sick they take you to the hospital to make you better, so his mommy was going to get better soon, he was sure of it.

"Elizabeth Hummel," his dad told the receptionist, and she pointed him towards room 162. Burt paused outside the door, preparing himself to see his beautiful wife who was now approaching her time. He swung the door open to see a young woman with flowing chestnut hair, propped up on her bed.

"Mommy!" Kurt screeched, running towards her and practically leaping into her embrace.

"Hello, darling." she started, "it's lovely to see you again, but don't jump on mommy, she's not as strong as she used to be!" Kurt apologized quietly and slid off the hospital bed.

"Mommy," he said "you're going to get better, aren't you? That's what hospitals are for, to make people better, right?" Elizabeth sighed inwardly, she knew the day would come soon where she would have to tell her son that she wasn't going to get better, and she wasn't going to be around much longer.

"Honey, sometimes, people get very, very sick, and no matter how hard the doctors try, they can't make them better. Mommy's one of those people." she explained.

"But mommy, if you aren't getting better, the doctors here aren't very good at their jobs. The hospital should get rid of them and find new ones who can make you better!" Kurt suggested.

Elizabeth thought about what he said, and realized he's still a very young child, who doesn't understand why he's losing his mommy. Even though, over the past four months, Kurt has been forced to be mature far more quickly than he should have, having to come to terms with his mother being hospitalized for weeks at a time, he is still just a six year old boy, struggling to understand what's happening.

"Kurt," Elizabeth said, sternly but kindly, "mommy's not going to be around much longer, she's very, very sick and so she has to leave soon, and won't be able to see you again." Kurt started whimpering at this, so she decided to add something.

"It's not that I want to leave, honey, but I have to, ok? You have to be strong for mommy and for daddy as well, and you have to stop him making a big mess in the living room all the time!" she giggled, "mommy needs you to be brave, can you do that for me, Kurt?"

Kurt nodded solemnly, and as much as she hated to see him like this, Elizabeth knew she had to prepare him for what will happen in the near future.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Ok this chapter was really hard for me to write, which is why, combined with me being on holiday and so being kind of busy in the day, it took me almost three days to finish. I literally finished it 10 minutes ago, and so the end's not edited, sorry :( Anyway, I'm just gonna post this because my eyes hurt since it's gone 1 am. **

**WARNING: Angst and almost severe lack of Klaine fluff :(**

Chapter 3

2 Weeks Later

"Blaine!" Kurt shouted, running out of his front door, towards where the dark haired boy sat on the opposite side of the fence. Hearing his name, Blaine looked up from the blades of grass he was playing with and saw Kurt leaning over , looking ecstatic.

"Blaine! Guess what, my mommy's coming home today, you can finally meet her!" he said, jumping up and dKurt must really love his mommy to be this excited. own, arms swinging back and forth like pendulums. Blaine smiled at this,  
>"That's-" he began, but Kurt cut him off.<p>

"And, Blaine, it's my birthday in exactly one week!" That surprised him a little, Kurt had said he was six but Blaine had thought he couldn't possibly be older than him, he was so small. _His_ birthday was in around two months, so he assumed Kurt's was in three, or even four, not a week! But still, Blaine was happy for him, being seven is very important, it means you're a big kid, and you don't have to be treated like a little kid anymore, that's what Blaine's big sister, Hannah, told him.

"That's great Kurt! Are you having a party?" he asked, a hint of apprehension in his voice. Even though they had said they were each others' best friends, maybe Kurt didn't want him at his party, maybe they hadn't been friends long enough, maybe-

"Yep, and you're invited," Blaine looked at Kurt with wide eyes. "That is, if you want to come and don't have anything else to do..." he continued nervously, chewing his bottom lip. Kurt tends to do that when he's worried, Blaine noticed, but he honestly had no idea what he was worried about this time.

"Of course I want to come, Kurt, you're my best friend." Hearing this, Kurt pushed open the gate and threw himself at Blaine in a huge bear hug. He thanked Blaine a hundred times, which he though was quite strange, he should be the one thanking Kurt for _inviting _him, not Kurt thanking Blaine for coming!

When he decided to ask Kurt why he did that, he shrugged and said:

"People don't usually come to my parties, only Mercedes. The other kids I invite just laugh at me, so I thought maybe you wouldn't want to come either." he replied sadly. This broke Blaine's heart, that people didn't like Kurt, he was an amazing person, so why didn't they want to come to his parties? As if he knew what he was thinking, Kurt elaborated,

"the boys say I'm too girly and the girls say all boys are yucky, so they don't want to go to their parties."

Blaine pulled him into a hug once more.

Elizabeth sat in the waiting room, waiting for her husband and son to pick her up and take her home. The doctors had said there was no point keeping her in the hospital any longer, she was stable, and they couldn't do anything more for her, she was getting weaker and there was nothing she, or anyone else could do about it. She had known for months that it would happen and she wasn't scared for herself, scared of dying, she was scared for Kurt and Burt, and how they would handle it.

Burt was still young, she had told him to find someone again, remarry, because he needed to love and be loved, but he just shook his head, saying no one could ever replace her. She didn't want him to be lonely because of her, he was a wonderful man, and he deserved to be with someone who would put the light back in his eyes after she's gone. Kurt, Elizabeth feared, would be the one suffered the most from her death, he was very attached to his mother, being very much like her himself in many aspects; he loved to sing and dance, he liked fashion and he even wanted to learn how to cook. Elizabeth was the one who took him to see musicals and dance recitals, she was the one who picked out his clothes and she was the one who offered to teach Kurt how to make a souffle after his seventh birthday.

Burt loved his son, but he didn't connect with him the way Elizabeth always did. When he found out they were expecting a boy, seven years ago, he was overjoyed. He began planning all sorts of things during her pregnancy, what football games they would see, how he would teach him things like soccer and baseball. So when it turned out that Kurt hated these things, it had to be said that Burt was a little disappointed, not in Kurt, of course not, but he had been looking forward to being a great dad to his son.

"Hello, mommy, you're coming home with us now aren't you?" Kurt rushed up to his mother, arms outstretched, hoping to be lifted up.

"Yes, Kurt, but remember, mommy's not strong enough to pick you up anymore, honey." Elizabeth said as she leaned down for a hug. Kurt pouted, but didn't object, because he knew how sick she was. But since she's coming home, Kurt thought, she must be getting better!

Burt just stood in silence and watched the two with a sad smile on his face. His Lizzie was so pale now, and she'd lost a lot of weight, in all honesty, it looked like she could leave at any moment. He frowned and pried Kurt away from his mother and pulled her into his arms.

No one had expected Burt to start crying, there and then, not even Burt himself, but his shoulders shook as he softly cried, clinging on to his wife like a lifeline.

The car ride home consisted solely of Kurt chatting away to (or rather, _at_) Elizabeth about his birthday, Blaine and everything that had happened in the past fortnight. She had half a mind to calm him down, but it was so sweet she decided to leave him be.

Once they had arrived home, Elizabeth immediately noticed a small boy with a mop of dark, curly hair waiting outside their front gate to greet them. As soon as they opened the doors, Kurt rushed to the boy, saying something to him that he obviously understood, if his enthusiastic nodding was anything to go by, but that she couldn't hear because his excitement was causing his speech to speed up considerably.

"Mommy, this is my best friend, Blaine, he wants to say hello. He's already met daddy so now he needs to meet you!" Kurt said. A blush was slowly creeping up Blaine's face, that showed he was very nervous, so Elizabeth smiled kindly and introduced herself, before he died of embarrassment.

"Hello, Blaine. I'm Elizabeth, Kurt's mommy. Kurt's told me a lot about you." she stated.

"He has?" Blaine's face was reddening even more, if possible, and he looked like he was about to pass out. Seeing this, Elizabeth just smiled and nodded, saving the boy from any further conversation that might make him uncomfortable.

"Kurt, you go and play with Blaine for a while, and I'm going to talk to daddy, ok?" Kurt nodded and headed into the garden with Blaine, while she took Burt's hand and pulled him inside, to the kitchen, and sat him down, proceeding to sit down opposite him. Burt wasn't meeting her eyes, he didn't want her to see the sadness and the hurt in them. He needed to be strong for himself, and Elizabeth.

"Burt, look at me." She said. He reluctantly dragged his eyes away from the floor and back up to hers.

"I'm just going to say this now, I don't want to drag it on any longer than necessary." she started and Burt nodded, urging her to go on.

"I don't think I'm going to make it to his birthday"

Burt was thinking about what his wife had said five days ago, how couldn't he? If the only person you'd ever loved had said she had less than a week to live, you'd be thinking about it too. She'd made it this far, there were less than two days left until Kurt's birthday, maybe she _would_ make it to see her son turn seven. If she did, Burt knew that Kurt could at least enjoy his birthday before the inevitable happened, and Burt could see them both happy together one last time, one last day where everything felt normal. All she needed to do was survive another two days. But of course, luck was never on his side.

Elizabeth staggered into the living room where Burt sat, clutching her forehead and panting heavily.

"Lizzie, honey, you're scaring me, sit down before you hurt yourself," Burt pleaded, he just thanked the heavens that Kurt was in bed at the moment, given that it was nearly midnight. Elizabeth stumbled in the general direction of the couch and mumbled:

"Burt, I feel dizzy." Burt immediately got up to support his wife and guide her towards the couch, where he would then tell her to wait while he phoned an ambulance. But before they got far, Elizabeth collapsed, unconscious into her husband's arms.

"Kurt, Kurt" Burt gently shook his son in an attempt to wake the sleeping boy.

"Kurt, come on, mommy's gone to hospital again and we need to make sure she's ok." After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Burt just decided to pick him up bridal style and carry him to the back seat of the car. Having buckled himself and the ever-sleeping Kurt in, he pulled out of the drive and began the journey too see his wife for what he couldn't help but think would be the last time.

Kurt had fallen asleep again, this time curled up beside his mother on her hospital bed, despite what the nurses said about it being against regulations. Meanwhile, Burt was talking to one of the doctors outside, in the waiting room about his wife's condition.

"I'm afraid it doesn't look good, Mr. Hummel, the type of cancer your wife has has flushed calcium from the bones into her blood stream. Because of her weak state, the body could not correct such a great chemical imbalance. We are providing treatments which can help to correct the chemical imbalance, but given the scale it, and the state she is in, it doesn't seem likely that she will make it through the night. I'm sorry, ." Burt didn't understand what the doctor was telling him about calcium and chemical imbalance, in fact, the only part he fully understood was that it was unlikely Elizabeth would survive the night.

He thanked the doctor for his time and dragged his feet back into his wife's room and sat down in the armchair that has been placed near the side of the bed. Before he knew it, Burt had drifted off to sleep.

Kurt awoke to see that his daddy had fallen asleep in the big chair next to his mommy's bed, and thought he should wake him up, so he'll know when mommy wakes up too.

"Daddy, wake up!" Kurt urged, clambering over his dad's knees, "you don't want to be asleep when mommy wakes up!" Burt opened his eyes at this and sighed, pulling Kurt to sit down on his knees as opposed to him climbing all over them.

"Kurt, do you remember what mommy told you last time she was here, about how she won't be around much longer and might have to leave soon?" Kurt nodded.

"Well I think that's what's happening, mommy will probably leave soon, and she might not have time to say goodbye, but she loves you very much Kurt, and if she could stay here with you she would, but she can't, and that's just how the world works." Kurt took a shaky breath, nodded, and returned to his position on the bed next to his mother.

Half an hour later, Kurt was asleep once again, and Burt was sitting in the armchair, using all the time he had to take in the image of his beautiful wife. He knew in his heart that she was going to die that night, and he knew how much he would grieve, and how he would never forget her, despite the fact that Elizabeth had made him promise otherwise. So he used these last precious moments to make sure he's memorized every last thing about her; the shape of her cheekbones, the color of her skin, everything. He listened to the steady beeping of the heart monitor, when suddenly the time between each beep became shorter. Noticing the change, Kurt awoke but just snuggled even closer to his mother, but was soon lifted away by his father who had pressed the emergency button on the wall.

"The doctors are coming now, Kurt and you can't be on the bed when they come in." he said with false calmness.

The doctors rushed in through the door, but before they could even reach the bed the beeps had merged into to one, continuous white noise. She had flat-lined.

"Daddy, what's happening?" Kurt asked, clinging to his father's arm. "When is mommy going to wake up?"

How do you explain to a six-going-on-seven year old that his mother had just died?

"Kurt, son, mommy's not going to wake up." Burt said in a soothing tone. He wasn't sure whether the tone was for himself or Kurt, but it was a soothing tone nonetheless.

"So..y-you mean she's dead?" Burt nodded solemnly. "But, daddy, it's my birthday tomorrow." Kurt whimpered.

"I know son, I know."


	4. Chapter 4 part 1

**AN: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ! Or, like, skim at least so you get the just**

**Right, here's part of the next chapter, sorry it's been a few days, I was really busy on my holidays.**

**Now, let me explain why it's only half. First of all, I've been on holiday so I couldn't get any writing done and I only got home a few hours ago. Also, I've been increasingly tired these past few days because the very few evenings I could write it was late, and I had to stay up until around 3am to get what writing I wanted done done. Thirdly, this morning I got my Pottermore email, so naturally I've checked it out. AND to top it all off, I'm ill and the rugby club next door to my house has decided to organize a 'Megaday' so they're blasting music from bad tribute bands an an obnoxious volume which doesn't really help my head. So yeah, long story short, the world is against me writing right now.**

**So far, this is the best I could do, it's 2000 odd words long so hopefully that'll be ok but it ends abruptly. I just thought it might be a few days before I can finish it and I don't want you to keep you waiting that long, so, here's what I've managed to write, and the next part should be up in a few days.**

**Thanks for understanding (or not, whatever, that's your call :P )**

Chapter 4

Kurt couldn't enjoy his birthday, Blaine and Mercedes still came to his party, but it didn't matter, it was ruined anyway. He didn't really understand what happened to his mommy, but what he did understand is that she was never coming back, she would never hold him again when he was sad, or smile along with him when he was happy, she was gone. So after Blaine and Mercedes left to go back to their own homes, Kurt went to his room and lay there, unmoving, willing himself to cry. He couldn't. He tried to cry, he _wanted_ to cry for his mommy but he just couldn't, he didn't even feel sad, only empty, like there was nothing inside of him anymore.

Days went by with him feeling like this, he would wake up, eat breakfast in silence, get dropped off at school by his father, come home, eat dinner and return to his bedroom once more, feeling nothing at all. Days slowly turned into weeks, and Kurt was tired of feeling hollow, he just wanted an emotion, any emotion to break through and make him feel normal again. Thinking about this, Kurt suddenly thought of Blaine, Blaine who had always made him feel happy, whatever the situation. It was then that he realized he hadn't even _seen_ Blaine since his birthday party, they went to different schools, and Kurt always went straight inside after school now, not really feeling up to talking, or anything for that matter. He rushed outside, expecting to have to knock on Blaine's door and beg for him to talk to him. After all, he had been very rude ignoring him all these weeks. But as he approached the gate, over the short fence he saw Blaine, sitting cross-legged on the ground, playing with the grass.

"Blaine?" Blaine looked up from the ground and stared in shock at Kurt for a moment before scrambling to his feet, grinning like an idiot.

"Kurt! I thought you didn't want to talk to me anymore," he said, hazel eyes still filled with surprise.

Now it was Kurt's turn to be shocked. "I always want to talk to you, Blaine, I just haven't been feeling right since... you know."

Blaine nodded to show that he understood.

Kurt continued, "I haven't really been feeling anything, I feel like I should be sad, or happy, or anything, but I'm not. So I thought of you, Blaine, you always make me smile and feel happy, and I'm sorry I haven't talked to you for a long time." Blaine grinned, and hopped over the fence to Kurt, pulling him into a hug.

The months trickled by one by one, and Kurt and Blaine grew closer every day. Blaine's birthday had been and gone, and to Kurt's surprise, he didn't have a party, but instead opted to spend the entire day with the chestnut-haired boy at the local park. Later that day, Blaine had told him it was the best birthday ever, just because he was with Kurt.

Kurt was happy again, sometimes, he even forgot why he was sad in the first place, until he remembered his mommy, that is, but Blaine was always there to comfort him and make him smile once more, and Kurt knew he was the best friend he could ever ask for.

Before they knew it, Kurt's birthday had rolled around again, he was going to be eight years old. He knew what the day before was, of course he did, how could he forget? But this year, he swore to not let it ruin his birthday. For days before, it had haunted him, what that day meant, but now, he didn't let it get to him. His birthday was going to be the same day for the rest of his life, he thought, so what was the point of getting upset about it?

It was a very wise and rational thing to think, for someone who had lived only eight short years, but Kurt had matured so quickly in the past year, it was almost unnatural. As it turns out, Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes and Kurt's new friend, Sam, had a whale of a time at Kurt's party, they ran around his house, played games, told stories, eat too much and felt sick afterward, but that wasn't what made it special. It was that Kurt was with his friends, and his friends, especially Blaine, he thought, made him happier than anything else in the world.

A few days later, Kurt wandered out of his house to meet Blaine, who, as usual, was sitting in the middle of the lawn on his side of the fence. He was always outside, Kurt noticed, and in the whole time they had known each other, they'd only ever been inside Kurt's house to play. This struck him as odd, so he decided to ask him about it.

"Blaine, why are you always outside? Even when it's raining or cold, when I come out to get you to come and play, you're always out here and I don't understand." Blaine's eyes grew wide with fear, he didn't want Kurt to know why he didn't usually go inside his house, he thought that maybe he wouldn't want to be his best friend anymore, maybe he would- no, Kurt would always be his best friend, he thought to himself, so he deserved to know.

Blaine mumbled something unintelligible to which Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Blaine?" he asked, obviously confused, the curly-haired boy had never acted this way before.

"Kurt, does your daddy love you?" Blaine asked suddenly. Kurt furrowed his brow, of course his daddy loves him, he thought, isn't that what parents are meant to do? Love you?

"Yes, of course he does, why?" he finally asked, he still had no idea of what Blaine was talking about, and whether it was an answer to his question earlier.

"I don't think my daddy loves me, he always shouts at me, and I don't know why, and when mommy tells him not to shout at me, he shouts at her. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or if I'm doing anything wrong at all. It scares me Kurt, so I come outside because he never bothers me when I'm out here."

Kurt just looked at him with a sad expression on his face, he didn't know why anyone wouldn't love Blaine, he was kind, smart and funny and he was never, ever mean, Kurt just didn't understand.

"Sometimes my daddy shouts at me, but only if I'm being naughty, like if I take cookies from the cookie jar when he's not looking. Do you do things like that Blaine?" he said, trying to help but not really succeeding. Blaine shook his head.

"Do you sing, Kurt?" he asked. Kurt was confused again, as this didn't really seem to have anything to do with what they were talking about, but he answered anyway, after all, Blaine's first question was important, so this one probably was as well.

"Yes, all the time, I like Disney the most but I also sing lots of songs from musicals. Do you?" Kurt had always liked singing, from the moment he was able to, he was toddling around the house singing whatever tune came to his mind at the time. Singing made him feel happy, so he did it as much as he could.

"Yes, I like Disney too, and sometimes I sing it in my bedroom, bu my daddy doesn't like it, so he shouts at me and calls me names I don't understand. Your daddy doesn't shout at you for singing, does he?" Blaine didn't think Kurt's daddy would shout at him for singing, Burt was a very nice man.

"No, he doesn't, he likes it when I sing, he says it's really pretty." Kurt replied, boasting a little. He felt guilty almost as soon as he said it though, he shouldn't say that to Blaine if he wasn't allowed to sing, it was insensitive.

Blaine just nodded to show that he's heard and sighed sadly. He wished he was allowed to sing in his house, he loved singing, it made him feel free.

Kurt hated seeing Blaine so upset, it wasn't fair, and he had an idea.

"Blaine, do you want to sing with me, in my house?" he offered, no pity in his voice, only sympathy for the boy.

Blaine stared at him, "really?" he asked. He had never sung with anyone before, no one had ever wanted to sing with him.

Kurt nodded enthusiastically, walked around to Blaine's garden and took his hand, guiding him towards his front door.

After that, Kurt and Blaine made it an almost daily exercise over the next couple of months, to go to Kurt's house and sing together. Burt didn't mind, of course, they were so sweet together, and they actually sounded pretty good, believe it or not. One day, after singing a very long Disney medley, Kurt asked Blaine if he's ever been to the theater to see a musical.

"No, I haven't, have you?" he asked, and Kurt replied by grinning and nodding. He had a plan.

"So you see, dad, Blaine's not doing anything for his birthday again this year, and they're showing Fame in the theater nearby next week- the week of his birthday-, and since we were going to go anyway, I thought we could bring him!" Kurt explained to his father, obviously very excited at the thought of going to the theater with Blaine, so Burt decided to tease him a little.

"Well, I don't know, Kurt," he began, putting on his best uncertain voice.

"But, daddy," he started, "Blaine's never been to the theater before and I'm sure he would love it just as much as I do! It's not as if it's it's expensive or anything and he's not any trouble..." Kurt was rambling now, so Burt decided to put him out of him misery.

"Of course he can come, scooter, Blaine's always welcome with us, you know that." He said with a grin, picking Kurt up and whirling him around in the air. Kurt squealed and thanked him, rushing out to tell Blaine.

"Hey Blaine!" Kurt greeted the younger boy.

As soon as Blaine saw his face, he knew something was going on, he looked like he'd just been told Christmas had come early.

"What's up?" he asked, trying to keep his tone as relaxed as possible, which was hard because Kurt's excitement and happiness had always been contagious.

"So," Kurt said, "you know how you're not doing anything for your birthday again this year?" Blaine nodded. "Well, my dad agreed to take us both to the theater to see Fame on the night of your birthday!" Throughout that sentence, the volume of Kurt's voice had risen so by the end he was practically screeching into Blaine's face, but Blaine didn't care. Kurt had just told him he was taking him to the theater for the first time in his life and he couldn't be happier. There was only one problem, though, his dad.

"Kurt, I'd love to come but what will I tell my daddy? He doesn't like musicals." Blaine asked, obviously upset. Kurt mulled over this for a few minutes before his face lit up in realization.

"Tell your mommy instead, then!" he offered, and as much as Blaine didn't want to lie to his daddy, he had to admit, it was a good idea.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading this first part, see you soon! <strong>


	5. Chapter 4 part 2

**AN: Ok, so I just tried to save this in the Doc Manager with my author's note and my internet died. Obviously. So now I have to write out my apology again: Hey guys. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in ages, it's just my best friend got some bad news and I've been trying to help her deal with it and now she's not in school and not answering her phone so I'm worried about her. Also, life has really caught up with me and I'm busy/ill/exhausted literally every moment of every day. Anyway, enough of the excuses, which, though legit, make me feel like I'm just trying to excuse myself for being an idiot and not updating in 300 million years. So here's the update, short, but from now on I promise I'll set aside some time every day after school to write and I'll try my best to update at least once a week. Sorry again :(**

**~ KindOfANinja**

Chapter 4 Part 2

Blaine's mom was happy for him to go to see _Fame _with Kurt, she was glad he was such good friends with him since the children at his school didn't like him very much. Of course, she couldn't tell James, Blaine's father, he would be livid, but that wasn't a problem, he would never ask where Blaine was, he didn't even notice he was gone most of the time when he went out with Kurt. This thought saddened Claudia a little, that he was so determined that their only boy should grow up to be strong and tough and typically boyish and everything that, in James' words, a real man should be. It didn't bother her at all that Blaine didn't appear to be that sort, though, in fact she was secretly quite glad of it seeing as she and Blaine had a few common interests, which meant they had a closer bond than most mothers did with their sons. Unfortunately, Blaine's father felt completely differently, which frequently caused huge arguments (or more like shouting matches) between the two adults.

James didn't used to be like this, he used to be so accepting of everyone and anyone in high school, and that was the amazing man that Claudia had fallen for and later married, not this bitter man who had changed so much over the years and had apparently lost his morals along the way.

Kurt and Blaine sat in their seats in the theater, Kurt happily anticipating the moment when the curtains would rise and the show would begin and Blaine so overcome with excitement that he was practically shaking next to him. Kurt turned to Blaine and saw how restless he was, and thinking he was worried or nervous, he asked:

"Are you ok, Blaine?" Blaine nodded enthusiastically and proceeded to talk to Kurt abut how excited he was to be there with him. As soon as Blaine had finished, which, admittedly, took quite a while, Kurt beamed at him in reply, and his smile grew even wider if possible when the room darkened and a spotlight appeared in the center of the stage.

"The show's starting, I think!" Blaine whispered, his voice hoarse due to how much he'd previously been talking to Kurt about the play.

Kurt chuckled, "I know, silly," and turned to face the stage where the curtains were slowly rising.

The boys watched in awe as the actors bounded across the stage in the more energetic numbers of the musical and felt for the characters in more emotional scenes. Although he didn't fully understand it, Kurt was especially moved as Serena lamented her unrequited love in 'Let's Play a Love Scene', because he could feel what the character felt in that moment from the sheer power of her voice, and the words of her song. When the curtains dropped, signaling the end of act one, Kurt turned to Blaine and asked whether he wanted to leave for a little while, but Blaine shook his head.

"I really like the feel of this place, Kurt, I want to stay in here." Blaine said with a small smile.

"Me too," Kurt replied and reached over and clasped Blaine's hand tight in his own, something they had been doing since they were six years old, but never questioned, they did it because it felt right.

"That was amazing, Kurt, thank you so much for taking me today." Blaine said as the pair clambered into Burt's car and buckled up their seat belts, just like their parents had taught them to do last year.

"That's ok, Blaine, it was a lot of fun to have you here too," Kurt smiled, "I suppose you liked your birthday present, then, yeah?"

Blaine's eyes grew wide, it _was_ his birthday! He'd been having so much fun with Kurt that he'd forgotten his own birthday was today.

Realizing that he'd forgotten his birthday, Blaine cracked up laughing, and when Kurt raised his eyebrow in confusion, instead of explaining himself, he leaned across and pulled Kurt into an awkward hug, seat belts digging into their sides and arms squashed into the seats, but that wasn't important. Kurt was the best friend Blaine could ever ask for, and if he could he would keep hugging him forever.

Burt watched the two embracing in his rear-view mirror and sighed. Blaine was a good kid, and he was good for Kurt, because honestly, he's never seen his son happier than when he was with Blaine, and if Kurt was happy, that meant Burt was happy too. But he was concerned. Surely eight year old boys didn't hug and hold hands with each other as often as Kurt and Blaine did. Surely they played soccer and got dirty and payed rough with each other, but Kurt and Blaine had always been different. They played families, married their power rangers together and had miniature tea parties. Of course, they played with their cars and action figures as well, but they always seemed to be gentle and relaxed whilst doing so. Ever since Kurt was three years old Burt had thought his son might be gay, and although he wouldn't personally have a problem with it, he was afraid of what people would think of him if he was. He remembered how gay people were treated back when he was in school, they were tormented, hell, he even did some of the bullying himself, and he never, ever wanted anything like that to happen to his only child.

The car pulled up in Burt Hummel's driveway and Kurt and Blaine hopped out of the back seats, shutting the heavy doors of the SUV behind them. After saying goodbye to Kurt, Blaine made his way back around to his own garden.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt!" he yelled, even though he was just a fence away from the chestnut-haired boy. Blaine wished the day was longer so he could spend more time with his best friend, but it was getting late and the sun had begun to set, which meant that he couldn't see Kurt until the morning, before they went their separate ways to their schools.

"Bye, bye, Blainey!" Kurt half giggled, half yelled back at him before walking through his own front door. As soon as he stepped into the hall though, he thought of something strange. After he said goodbye to Blaine he hadn't heard his front door open or close, but he could have sworn that he heard someone knock on it. But why would Blaine knock on his own door? There was no one else there, so it must have been him but why? Maybe he was being silly again, he did that sometimes, just to make Kurt laugh (which, although he pretended not to, he actually found really funny). That must have been it, he thought, him just being silly again. Kurt smiled to himself, he really did love his best friend.

Blaine smiled when his mommy opened the door and let him in, he liked being called Blainey, it made him laugh, and it made him feel happy. When Kurt called him Blainey though, he felt special. Kurt had told him he didn't have nicknames for anyone else, only him, and that just reinforced the fact that they were the best of friends. Kurt made him laugh and made him feel happy all the time, even when he was feeling sad because mommy and daddy were fighting, or if daddy had shouted at him. He really did love his best friend.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Wow, this is really late, I'm surprised anyone's still got it on alert it to be honest, bu thank you so much for not giving up on this fic :) I was all set to write a few weeks ago and life just suddenly got in the way, so I'm really sorry about that. I should have found time but I suppose if you want to blame something, blame homework, that's what I blame everything on. Anyway, this chapter isn't edited because I wanted to get it up as soon as possible, so sorry if there are any mistakes.  
>The first half of this chapter is a bit angsty, and it doesn't end here, the next few chapters will probably be more of the hurtcomfort part of this story. Hope you enjoy :)**

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><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

A few weeks later

Blaine stood outside the Hummels' front door in the pouring rain, debating whether or not he should knock, after all, it was eleven o'clock in the evening and Blaine knew that Kurt was sleeping at Mercedes' that night, so Burt would be alone in the house and he really didn't want to disturb him. On the other hand however, Blaine was cold, wet and had nowhere else to go. His mommy and daddy had been fighting again -they seemed to be doing that a lot lately- and although he had tried to block out the sounds of their screams with his pillows, he could hear the muffled yells coming from downstairs and after what had seemed like hours, he heard one final shout from each of his parents before the front door slammed shut.

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear the image of his father throwing his bedroom door open and screaming at him, slurring his words, to get out of the house. He wanted to forget about the words that were said, the things that were thrown, and just standing there wasn't going to do that. Blaine raised his little fist and knocked three times, gently at first, but after he heard no movement from inside the house he knocked again, this time as hard as he could, which, given that he was only and eight year old boy, wasn't really that hard at all. Despite that, he could hear heavy footsteps making their way to the door before it was opened by a tired Burt, who let out a small grunt of acknowledgment to whoever was standing at his door.

"B-burt, I know it's late and I know you've been working at the shop all day so you must be tired and, well, I can go if you want but-" Blaine stammered, rambling a little as Burt looked down at the boy and took in his disheveled appearance, his soaking clothes and the terrified look on his face and it registered in his head that something was very wrong.

"Kid," he cut Blaine off, "I don't know what's going on here, but you've never been one to ask for anything unless it's important, and I can see what you're asking for now. It's alright, son, I would never ask you to leave in this state." Burt smiled sadly before continuing, "I care about you, Blaine, you've been nothing but an amazing friend towards Kurt, you're a great kid. Here," he said opening the door a bit wider, "you'd better come in."

Blaine walked into the house without a word, too shocked by Burt's little speech to say anything, but hoping that his silent message of thanks was received. He wandered through the familiar hallway and into the living room, where he took a seat on the couch while Burt went through to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with two mugs of steaming hot cocoa for the both of them. It was then, in the light, that he noticed the large, rapidly purpling bruise that covered almost half of the young boy's face. It was fresh.

"Blaine," he began, "who did this to you?" Burt said surprisingly calmly, though he was seething inside.

"My dad," Blaine replied, almost silently, staring at the carpet beneath his dangling feet. Hearing this, Burt almost exploded with the anger that was quickly building up inside of him, but managed to keep himself together long enough to ask Blaine what exactly had happened. The boy took a deep breath and began reciting all the events of that night.

Burt had heard enough when he found that Blaine's dad -no, _father_,no dad would do this to his son_- _had kicked him out of the house, giving him only 10 minutes to pack a bag and leave, the kid was eight years old for crying out loud!

"Blaine, why don't you go and get some rest, you can sleep in Kurt's room or the guest bedroom, wherever you would feel most comfortable, we'll talk more in the morning."

Blaine nodded and made his way upstairs with some difficulty, since he was walking with a slight limp. Burt shook his head and sighed loudly, he couldn't believe what that poor kid had had to face that night.

Early the next morning, Blaine awoke at the sound of the door being opened and greetings being exchanged, that must have meant that Kurt was home. Yawning, he climbed out of Kurt's bed and went to get dressed before heading downstairs.

"Blaine! What are you doing here?" Kurt asked, pulling him into a hug, "not that I'm not glad to see you of course," as Kurt pulled away and looked at Blaine properly, he gasped at the enormous mark that was painted on his friend's face.

"Oh, Blaine," he said, wrapping his arms around him once more. Kurt knew what problems Blaine had with his father; he was the one to tell him to come to their house at any time of the day or night if things got out of hand. Kurt understood exactly what had happened with Blaine without even needing to be told and he knew his best friend too well to miss the look he gave him, it was the look that meant he needed him.

Blaine's body shook with sobs as Kurt held him, gently rocking him from side to side until the crying subsided.

"It'll be ok, Blaine, you'll see. Don't you worry about anything." he soothed, holding Blaine at arm's length and rubbing his shoulders softly.

Burt looked upon this with pride for his son for being such a great friend, fro understanding exactly what Blaine needed without exchanging words. His pride soon changed to sadness, though, because no child should have o hold their friend like this, no child should ever have to be comforted this way, it was so unfair. Why did the other children get to play happily, without a care in the world, when these two had been through so much in the last two years, things that not even most adults would have had to experience? These boys had done nothing wrong, and yet they were being punished so harshly, but the thing that scared him the most was their strength. There had been many a time when Burt had been feeling down, upset about his wife's passing, or maybe something a little less painful, but a little more raw, and Kurt had been the one to comfort him, and never showed any signs of weakness whilst doing so. In fact, Kurt had not cried at all since Elizabeth had passed away all those months ago, and surely that wasn't normal for such a young child. Quite honestly, Burt was terrified.

Later on, after breakfast and after informing the police about Blaine's father, Burt sat down with Blaine and Kurt in the living room, ready to talk to them about Blaine's living situation and what they could arrange to help him, and finally to decide exactly what there were going to do and where Blaine would be staying, although he was fairly certain he knew the answer to that one already.

After a lot of talking and tears (on Blaine's part), it was decided that Blaine would be staying with them for the short term and they would try to contact his mother and see if she could take care of him. Burt wished he could let Blaine stay permanently but with all the complications involved it would be a very difficult process. However, if they couldn't contact Claudia at all, he would be more than willing to try and get custody over Blaine, he had become like a second son to him, after all.

Later that day, Kurt and Blaine were playing halfheartedly out in the back garden (Burt figured it would be safer for the both of them than the front). The events of the past two days had caught up with them and all sorts of questions were filling their minds. What would happen if Blaine's mom had gone to live outside of Lima? Would they see each other ever again? If Burt did get custody of Blaine, would that mean they'd be brothers? Out of all these questions, Blaine decided to ask Kurt the one that he felt was most important:

"Kurt, do you think men can love men the same way as me can love a ladies?" he asked the older boy. For a moment, Kurt looked vaguely stunned at the question, but then his expression turned neutral again as he replied.

"I don't see why not, in fact, I asked my mommy that same question when I was little," Kurt paused and Blaine guessed he was thinking about his mother, but he soon continued, "she said that love is love, no matter who's in it. I didn't really understand it at the time, but now I'm more grown up, I'm pretty sure I know what it means," he said, "it means that it doesn't matter if a man loves a man or a man loves a woman or a woman loves a woman, all that matters is that they love each other." Kurt finished, quite proud of himself for his explanation. "Why do you ask?"

Blaine hesitated, wondering if he should lie or tell the truth. He soon realized though, that of course he should ell the truth, Kurt was his best friend, he could tell him anything.

"Because when I was little, before I met you, I asked my father" -Blaine now refused to call him his dad- "that question, and he shouted at me about it being a sin for men to think they love each other, and that their love wasn't real, it was just a lie to get attention and that they didn't actually love each other. That's not true is it Kurt?" Blaine asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else.

"Of course not Blaine, and I know that because..." Kurt smiled a little "because I love _you_, Blaine, and I'm not pretending anything." he said shyly.

"That's good," Blaine answered, "because I love you too, Kurt."

Both boys grinned, delighted, and Kurt reached out and grasped Blaine's hand in his own and lay back on the grass, Blaine following suit shortly afterward.

An hour or so later, Burt went outside to get the boys inside for food and found them curled into each other on the grass, asleep with their fingers laced together and toys strewn carelessly around them. He smiled and decided that dinner could wait for another hour or two.

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><p><strong>I just had to add that little bit of fluff at the end, I couldn't leave them all sad. :D Also, I had to put some BlaineBurt moments in, it was very important.**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN:**** Wow, ok, my internet failed on me and deleted my entire author's note :( **

**Anyway, I'm so sorry this took do long, I could list a million excuses but it was pretty much school and writer's block. I'm off school for two weeks for Christmas so updates should be more frequent. I found it really hard to start this chapter, but once I got going, it was coming so easily that towards the end my heart was pounding because I didn't know what was going to happen next!**

**The rating has been changed to a T because of mild violence and swearing/offensive language, I'm sorry if this stops you from wanting to read :(**

**I realized a while ago that I've never put my tumbr URL here so here it is (delete the spaces): ninjagleeks. tumblr. com**

**Hope you enjoy, it's quite an intense chapter.**

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

After many attempts at contacting her, Claudia finally picked up her cellphone and answered Burt's call. He was extremely relieved, to say the least, that when he explained to her what had happened, she, feeling awful for leaving Blaine, said that she was less than two hours away from Lima and would be there as soon as possible to pick him up. But, despite the relief Burt was feeling, he couldn't help the sinking in his stomach when he heard that Blaine would be leaving soon. He _was_ a son to Burt, blood relation be damned, because he sure as hell didn't have any other father figure to rely on, and life wouldn't be the same without him.

Once the phone conversation had ended and Burt hung up, he decided it would be best if he woke the boys up and told them the news. At that very moment, however, the boys sauntered into the house of their own accord and plopped themselves down on the couch, looking as content as ever. It killed Burt to know he would have to break the news to them.

"Blaine," he began, "I just got hold of your mother on the phone and she's coming to pick you up in less than an hour."

"Oh ok, I just hope she's not moving to a far-away part of Lima, because then it would be harder to see you and Kurt, but I'm sure our new house will be near enough, maybe even in the next street and..."

"Blaine," Burt said kindly but forcefully, cutting off his rambling. "When I phoned your mom she was in Columbus. She's going to move in with her parents for a while, and she's taking you with her."

Blaine's lip began quivering and Kurt suddenly realized what this would mean. They couldn't be best friends anymore. Both boys burst into tears, distraught that they would no longer be able to see each other every day.

Burt walked into the kitchen to give the boys, who had just walked hand in hand back out to the garden, some peace.

"Blaine, I know it's really sad but we can send letters and I'll make an email account and we can phone each other all the time! At least you'll be with your mommy so you won't be scared anymore, and that's all that matters." Kurt sniffled, trying to convince himself just as much as Blaine that it would be alright, but of course, he knew it wouldn't be.

**LINE BREAK :) **

Naturally, the day before, Burt had informed the police about Blaine's father as soon as Blaine had gone to bed, but given that he wasn't under any immediate threat, they hadn't thought of it as a priority. Burt, of course, was furious that they would even _dare_ suggest that this poor boy wasn't a priority, but they wouldn't change their minds about it, so he had to begrudgingly accept the next best thing: they would look into the case and contact him as soon as they had come to a decision. So, shortly after his conversation with Claudia, he wasn't surprised when his phone started to ring once more, the caller ID informing him that Lima Police Department was calling.

"Good evening, Officer." Burt said, after accepting the call. As Officer Stanley explained the situation, with Burt occasionally humming in affirmation that he'd heard, it was becoming steadily clearer that it was not being taken seriously, nor that the Police Department actually ever had any intention whatsoever of "looking into the case".

"What do you mean, not enough evidence? You haven't even seen the boy _or _his father!" Burt argued, but it seemed that this was a fight that he was losing.

After much shouting, cursing and _how dare you?_s, he finally, reluctantly, gave in to the officer, hung up the phone and rested his head in his hands.

If they didn't arrest the monster living next door, how could he ever feel that Blaine was safe? At least he would be with his mother soon, and she was a good woman, she would protect him.

**LINE BREAK :)**

James didn't like the idea of his son visiting that boy that lived next door. He wouldn't like it anyway, even if it were some rough, boyish and so obviously _straight_ boy, but he especially hated it that he was spending time with that boy, encouraging his sin and helping him spread his disease. Blaine had already started to catch it, he sang in his bedroom when he thought that no-one could hear him, he asked if they had any Disney films and, worst of all, he had asked him if he could have the boy over for a _tea party_. So when James found out that he was staying at that boy's house, he was furious. It was at that point that he decided he would keep his rear windows open at all times, so that he could keep his eye (or rather, ear) on Blaine when he and Kurt (was that the boy's name?) were in the back garden together.

Sitting near to the window, like he had been doing for the most part of the last few hours, James recalled something that had happened around two hours ago.

Kurt and his son had been out in the garden together, talking and playing like they usually did in the front garden. He wasn't really paying a lot of attention to them, but he made sure that he knew what they were saying, just in case. All of a sudden the boys' conversation turned to one that Blaine had had with him many years ago about loving other boys.` He listened intently to this, getting gradually more angry with every moment that his son was discussing such things, when he heard some _horrifying _words:

"I love _you_, Blaine, and I'm not pretending anything."

At that point, James willed Blaine to do something, to insult him, to hit him, even just to walk away, _anything, _but of all the things Blaine could have done, he decided to reply.

"That's good, because I love you too, Kurt."

That was the last straw for him, he had to get Blaine out of there, but he needed a plan.

James cringed at the memory of the words that were exchanged, and began to brainstorm ideas whilst still half-listening to the boys who were once again talking outside. He had nothing. How do you get your son out of someone's house against their own will when there's a huge man -that could easily put you in hospital- present?

"Blaine, I know your mom is picking you up in fifteen minutes, but please don't cry."

James immediately focused on the boys' conversation. Did the boy say that Blaine's _mother_ would be picking him up in _fifteen minutes_? He needed to take Blaine away, and fast if what the boy was saying was true. There was only one way to do it now, and it wouldn't be pretty.

James walked out of his front door.

**LINE BREAK :) **

Burt hear someone rapping at the front door and figured it must have been Blaine's mother, although she was a little early. He opened it to see, not the woman he was expecting, but a short, stocky man. _Blaine's father._

"Get away from my house," Burt hissed through gritted teeth.

"I just need to say Blaine a moment," James replied, smoothly and calmly. Did he really think he was that stupid? Burt wasn't going to let him anywhere near Blaine ever again, and that was final.

"No." he spat, "Now _leave_,"

James' calm facade suddenly changed and he had a thunderous look on his face.

"I don't have time for this!" he yelled, and pushed Burt to the ground.

He ran through the house, quickly found the back door and hoisted Blaine into his arms as if he was a child snatching a toy from another.

"Blaine!" Kurt screamed, and ran after the man who was already halfway to the front door by now, but of course, he couldn't catch up.

Once James had managed to carry a kicking and screaming Blaine back to the front door, he noticed that Burt was standing directly in front of the door, a murderous look on his face.

"If you think you can take away _my son, _you've got another thing coming!" Burt's tone was so much more than angry, and with that, he lunged at James, taking care not to hurt Blaine of course.

In shock, James dropped Blaine, who landed safely on his feet and scrambled over to where Kurt was standing, terrified. He braced himself for the force of Burt's body slamming into him, and it appeared to work, because he stumbled back a little, but didn't fall. He then swung his fist towards the taller man, but in his fury, missed and punched a wooden dining chair, which splintered and bloodied his knuckles. Crying out in pain, James reached for something that he could use to hurt the other man, but spotted something better. Kurt. He was standing in front of Blaine, as was relatively close, within reaching distance, and so he grabbed hold of the boy's wrist and pulled him towards him so that he could hold him in place with both hands.

"Let me leave with Blaine, or I'll hurt the boy," he threatened, "you don't want that, do you?"

Burt's eyes widened and he shook his head, but didn't move from his place in front of the door.

"Move!" he yelled.

Burt didn't reply, but instead darted out to try and take Kurt from the man's grasp, but he wasn't quick enough. James saw what he was doing and thew Kurt forcefully into the wall opposite. He hit it and fell to the ground, hard.

"Father, stop!" Blaine cried through his tears, he hated seeing his best friend hurt.

He turned to his son and snatched him up once again and turned to face Burt.

"Blaine has been in the company of your _fucking_ _fag _of a son for too long!"

he exclaimed, knocking Burt out of the way with his shoulder and ran out the door. Burt hurried after him, followed by Kurt, who was rubbing his head, but by the time they reached him (he was _fast _for such a short man), he had already thrown Blaine into the car and was driving away.

"Blaine!" Kurt screeched, "Blaine, Blaine, Blaine!" He sank to his knees and pounded on the floor once he had realized that Blaine wasn't coming back.

"Blaine..." he whimpered.

The tears began to roll down Kurt's cheeks.

A puzzle is never complete without its last piece, it may look right, you may be able to tell what it is, and it may not be important to those looking upon it, but it is never whole. When someone is lost, another is incomplete until they are found once more, but the bond is never truly broken, and the missing piece never truly forgotten.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>** Just to let you know, I rarely swear and HATE any sort of offensive language, and would never use it unless it adds credibility/drama to a story. I would NEVER use any offensive language out loud under any circumstances.**


	8. Chapter 7

**AN:**** I am SO SO SO sorry. I know I haven't updated in a long time, I just haven't had the motivation. Also, a lot's been happening these last six months but that's no excuse. This chapter's the longest yet if that helps, and I promise I'll have another chapter up by Tuesday at the latest. Hopefully I can make up for all the time I missed :( I know it's hard to remember what just happened in a story that hasn't been updated in a while, so here's the last paragraph or so from ch 6: **

"Blaine..." he whimpered.

The tears began to roll down Kurt's cheeks.

-

A puzzle is never complete without its last piece, it may look right, you may be able to tell what it is, and it may not be important to those looking upon it, but it is never whole. When someone is lost, another is incomplete until they are found once more, but the bond is never truly broken, and the missing piece never truly forgotten.

**You'll probably notice that it's skipped a few years.  
><strong>

Chapter 7

Blaine Anderson had the perfect life. Caring friends, an accepting school, good grades and a mother who thought the world of him. But despite all this, walking through the beautifully decorated halls of Dalton, he never felt quite right. It was as if there was something missing, something important, but he just couldn't see what it was. It wasn't something recent either, ever since Blaine could remember there had been this _thing_- an idea, a memory, a thought, a feeling, a dream? He didn't know- niggling at him in the back of his mind, pulling at him and whining like a child craving attention. But by now, however, he had learned to ignore it and accept the fact that it either meant nothing or that he would figure it out some day. Either way, he wasn't bothered by it anymore.

**LINE BREAK**

"Hey man," Wes greeted, spotting Blaine in the hall outside his AP Chemistry class.

Blinking rapidly and pulling himself away from his train of thought, Blaine managed to reply with a slightly dazed hello, but couldn't quite bring himself to say anything else.

"Are you alright? You look sorta,"Wes paused, "confused, I think, but you could just be thinking, I can't really tell the difference with you yet."

Blaine had only transferred to Dalton a couple of months ago, so Wes and his other friends hadn't quite had the time to figure him out.

"Yeah, of course I'm ok, why would you think that?" the dark haired boy replied.

"Well to start with, you're standing in the science block when you have first period French in around," he checked his watch, "30 seconds." Wes smirked at the younger boy as he suddenly realized where he had to be.

Blaine's eyes widened dramatically before he scurried in the other direction, yelling a hurried "later Wes!" as he ran.

Seeing as Dalton's languages block was on the other side of the school's campus, Blaine arrived outside his French class tired, out of breath and a good five minutes late. He really needed to get more exercise, he thought. Anyway, the biggest issue was that he was five minutes late and Madame Lewis did NOT tolerate tardiness. Especially not from (and Blaine would swear this was a direct quote) 'weak little freshmen who had yet to learn their place in Dalton Academy or in fact in life itself.' So, of course, he was well and truly _screwed._ _Here goes nothing_, he thought and took a deep breath before knocking on the door of his classroom.

"Ah, Monsieur Anderson, tu n'ai pas compris que tu ai Francais maintenant et non pas l'éduacation physique, non?"* she greeted sarcastically.

It took Blaine a moment to realize why the rest of the class was quietly giggling, but he soon realized that Madame was referring to his appearance. Since he had ran all the way from the science block he was sweating, his hair and clothes with disheveled and he was breathing deeply and loudly. The moment he became aware of this, he blushed a bright scarlet and looked at the ground to hide his embarrassment.

"Blaine, you may sit down, but I would like to talk to you after class." Mme Lewis said in her heavy accent (unlike at Westerville High, the French teachers at Dalton were actually French to Blaine's amazement.)

Nodding, the teenage boy sat down at the last available seat next to Nick Duval, a fellow Warbler, who whispered:

"ouch, tough break, man," under his breath so that the teacher wouldn't hear.

**LINE BREAK**

Blaine Anderson had detention every day for a _week_. That's a week as in a weekends-included-not-just-five-days week. Seven days. Did he really deserve that for being five minutes late to a lesson? He would have to miss all his Warbler rehearsals that week, not to mention all his fencing practices! Sometimes he wished he didn't have to board so he physically couldn't have after school or weekend detentions.

All through his detention that day, seeing as Blaine had absolutely nothing to do, his thoughts kept drifting to that empty slot in his mind that he had yet to fill. He knew, he just _knew _that there had to be something missing, he could feel it in his very being, tugging and yanking at his mind to get him to notice it and find whatever it was and... ok, so maybe he was bothered by it a little.

A lot. Whatever. Ok, so he thought about it every day, just trying to speculate what on earth it could be, but that didn't mean he was obsessed or anything.

The teacher on duty that day told him and the few other boys in detention that they could go, and Blaine, as a natural reaction more than anything, got up from his seat and left the classroom.

"Dude, you're obsessed." David, his roommate, told him after he'd been back from detention for all of ten minutes.

"I'm not! It's just that there can't just not be a reason for that gap being there, can there? And what if it's important or life-changing in some way? I don't accept that there isn't some sort of significance to it!" Blaine exclaimed.

"You wanna know what I think?" asked Connor, a junior who often visited his little brother David's dorm in the evenings when his roommate Callum had his girlfriend over.

"What?"

"You need to get laid, curly." he said, feeling smug.

At this, Blaine's first reaction was to instantly touch his hair, only to realize that his trademark dapper gel helmet had come loose at some point during the day. He fell back onto his bed and groaned miserably, but sat up as soon as he thought about the rest of Connor's sentence.

"I'm fifteen!" he said, his voice a little higher than usual.

"Oh, yeah, sorry dude." the older boy replied, not seeming sorry at all. "Mind you," he continued, "I was your age when I first f-"

"Connor!" David interrupted, "please, there's kids around!" he scolded, gesturing to Blaine.

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Blaine protested.

Instead of replying, Connor picked up the nearest pillow and hit Blaine across the head with it with a muffled _thwack! _

And they were calling Blaine a kid?

By the time he could react however, Connor was calling out: "later David, Frodo." and Blaine's expertly thrown pillow hit the back of his dorm room's closed door.

Yeah, his friends were the best.

**LINE BREAK**

Really, Blaine was amazed that he'd settled into Dalton so well, given that he was a freshman and had only fairly recently transferred from Westerville. Sometimes, the school still surprised him with its no bullying policy and genuinely happy and accepting students, after all, his old school was a far cry from Dalton. He would still flinch occasionally when someone would slam their locker a little bit too hard, or clap him on the shoulder from behind, but his life was definitely changing for the better.

The one thing he did find a little... disturbing, though, was the boarding situation. Of course, he understood that he had to board, what with his mom being away on business for around three weeks each month, but when he first arrived at Dalton he wasn't really prepared for the difference between his friends' school-is-important-we-must-study-hard-and-never-break-our-dapper-personas _daytime _attitude and their I-really-couldn't-give-a-rat's-ass-let's-raid-the-kitchens-and-have-a-party _nighttime _attitude. And it was terrifying to say the least. The boys who Blaine had dubbed as kind and caring but a little stiff, proper and standoffish had turned out to be the most typical teenage boys in existence. Which meant food, video games, swearing, talking about girls, talking about sex and throwing parties. But he soon learned to not worry about their sanity and just enjoy spending time with them, which, even though if you asked him he would deny it, he really did enjoy.

That night, long after Connor had left, every single one of the Warblers flocked to Blaine and David's room, seeing as David was lead singer and therefore, very popular within the group, despite being only a sophomore. Of course, being the weird, bipolar group that they were, the usually strict Council proposed a Warbler party to celebrate their first win at Sectionals, even though the competition was over three weeks ago. _Here we go again_, Blaine thought to himself, but willingly obliged anyway.

**LINE BREAK**

Later that night, after pretty much everyone was worn out from the party, Blaine started thinking again. He thought about what he was missing and what could have possibly left that empty feeling deep in his heart, but found nothing. Blaine Anderson really _did_ have the perfect life. Except for his mother being away on business frequently, but that couldn't be helped, and besides, he had his family at Dalton. That's what the Warblers had become to him, family.

He glanced over to Nick and Jeff who were snuggled together happily on David's loveseat and his gut twisted. Nick and Jeff were in love, that much was obvious, he wasn't repulsed by this of course, nobody in Dalton was, which was one of the reasons Blaine transferred, but seeing them like that left him hollow and aching for someone to hold him like that. But why? He'd never had someone to love who loved him back, so why should he miss it and long for it? He sighed heavily, which caused a few of the nearer Warblers to turn to him curiously.

"Oh God, guys, Blaine's thinking again, I can tell!" Wes cried dramatically, falling to the ground and pretending to weep.

By this point, all of the Warblers had turned to look at either Wes, who had now gotten up and was pointing accusingly at Blaine, or Blaine, who had flushed bright red in embarrassment. But even though he was embarrassed a just a _tiny _bit scared of Wes, he felt like for the first time in his life he was really home.

Wait that wasn't right. Not for the first time in his life, he realized, just the first time in a long time. He couldn't place it, but right where that deep empty space was there was a memory of safety and of happiness. Of home. Blaine frowned, maybe there was some significance to it after all.

**LINE BREAK**

When Blaine woke up, he was draped upside down off his bed, his legs were resting on the mattress and his body and head were lying awkwardly; half on Wes and half on a discarded cushion on the floor. When he tried to stretch, he felt the stiffness in every part of his upper body and neck from being twisted into a crumpled heap all night, and groaned loudly, waking Wes and Trent who was, up until now, sleeping soundly on Blaine's bed.

"B'aine, why'd 'oo m'ke n'noise?" Wes mumbled faux-angrily, shoving Blaine's shoulder away from his chest.

He figured it was probably best to ignore Wes while he was in this state, and decided to check his watch instead. After a quick look, he saw that the time and date read: Sat, 02/20/2010, 12:36pm. Initially, he relaxed, it was Saturday, he didn't have class so he could lie in for as long as he liked. But, soon after, he bolted up into a sitting position.

"Shit!" he cursed, scrambled to his feet and raced out the door, still in his creased Dalton uniform from the day before.

"Language!" Trent called after him from his position on the bed.

As he ran down the long hallways, Blaine's internal monologue consisted of a chant of words too un-dapper to repeat with the words 'detention with Madame Lewis' thrown in occasionally. He had completely forgotten about her weekends-included-not-just-five-days detentions, which wouldn't have been a problem during the week since she would have _hapily _remided him every time he passed her in the hall, but since it was the weekend, Madame had decided to make the detentions at half past 12. As if any normal teenage boy was up at that time on a Saturday! By the time Blaine reached the Isolation room, it was 12:41 according to his watch, and detention had started by a good ten minutes. Screaming into his balled fist, Blaine tried to ready himself for his punishment. As he walked timidly into the classroom, he realized that there was no member of staff in the room. He sat down next to Jared, a boy from his English class, and didn't even have time to wonder where Madame Lewis was before she walked into the room, head held high, nose stuck up in the air. Luckily, the throwing of paper airplanes had ceased moments before she walked in.

"Thank you for being patient, students, I was in an extremely important meeting with the principal, not that it concerns you." she said in her nasal, patronizing voice.

_Thank God! Or whatever other deity might be responsible for this, if any of you actually do exist. I mean, maybe you do but I don't really have that sort of belief system, but thank you anyway!_

Ok, he was overthinking this, maybe a simple "Yes!" would have been sufficient. Blaine shook his head slightly and prepared himself for another hour of pure boredom.

**LINE BREAK**

"How was it? Did she kill you?" asked Thad in horror and amazement.

Blaine sighed, he loved his friends but they could be a bit much at times.

"Yes Thad, yes she did, I dropped dead on the spot because of her evil witch powers of electrocution . I am now a zombie. And the electricity made my hair frizz like this, it's not because that's what it looks like without gel." _nice save, Blaine_.

In fact, however, none of the Warblers had noticed his hair until he said that last part, and of course, they all looked at his hair.

"OH MY GOOD GOD! It's a poodle!" Jeff screamed, jumping around five foot high in the air.

_What have I done?_ Blaine thought. Only David knew about his 'fro, and that was because he was his roommate, so he couldn't exactly hide it from him forever.

It might seem irrational to always want to hide his curls, but his hair was one of the reasons he was bullied at Westerville high, along with many others of course. It had taken him six weeks to come out to the Warblers since being gay was the biggest reason for his abuse, and of course they were fine with it, but the gel had become a hard habit to break by then. If it was something he could easily hide, why not if it was one less possible reason to target him? He should have known that the Warblers would _never_ hurt him.

"Dude, that's awesome, your hair deserves an award or something!" Nick said, clapping him on the back with a grin on his face.

_Welcome home, _he thought to himself, squishing all his friends into a group hug.

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't have the patience to replace every LINE BREAK with an actual line break, it's been a long day. But, it's a good opportunity to use your imagination!<strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Wow, I forgot how much I love writing this :D Told you I'd have it up by today! Anyway, I wrote like 2,873 words without realizing it so now THIS is the longest chapter yet.**

**The feel of this is very different from the last chapter, but it might become more clear as to how these two chapters aren't actually that filler-ish and are actually important plot points :) **

**I'm gonna go to bed in a minute, and actually I just finished this so I only just got it out by today but shhh... nobody needs to know that ;)**

**Happy reading! Love from me x**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

Kurt Hummel bit his lip to try and distract himself from the pain as his leg impacted brutally with the edge of the dumpster. He was used to this, he didn't make a noise. It was only February, he'd been in McKinley High for less than six months and he was already used to daily dumpster-tosses. _Wow, my life sucks_ he thought to himself as he came to that realization. What was so wrong with him that people had to inflict pain on him every single day? And that was every single day as in weekends-included-not-just-five-days-a-week. Was it because he was a freshman? Or was it because they assumed he way gay even though Kurt himself didn't know whether he was yet? Whatever it was, they just wouldn't leave him alone.

Recently, they had started to come to his house- his sanctuary- on the weekends and play "pranks" on him, sometimes they were things that were easily rectified, such as when they drove past and threw pee-balloons at the garden ornaments, but others were not so easy to forget. Just the day before, Kurt had left the house to catch the school bus (_that _was almost worse than school itself!) only to find that somebody had keyed the word 'FAG' into his dad's car. He had taken that morning off to repair the marks in his dad's tire shop before Burt woke up. He couldn't let his dad know about what was happening, he would be devastated.

After he was sure that the jocks weren't sitting on top of the lid of the dumpster any more, he fumbled through the dark and blindly pushed up, hoping to open the lid and see the familiar strip of light emerge, but when had Kurt ever gotten what he had hoped for? No matter how much he tried, he couldn't open the lid. The football team must have brought in a padlock specifically to lock Kurt in the dumpster before first period. _Well, it's nice to know that they were thinking of me, _he thought sarcastically, then promptly burst into tears. He'd had enough! Surely he didn't deserve all this? Kurt hammered one more time on the inside of the lid before shrinking down into himself and clutching his knees protectively.

For a moment, Kurt considered texting one of his friends to ask them to come and help him out, but then he bitterly reminded himself that he didn't have any friends to text. Even so, he whipped out his phone and tapped his contact list. Dad. Mercedes. That was it. He didn't even know why he still had Mercedes' number, they weren't really friends anymore. In elementary school, Kurt, Mercedes and one other friend that Kurt couldn't quite place were inseparable until second or third grade. But after then, he remembered that he and Mercedes were still friends, but not as close as before, and the other friend had just, sort of disappeared.

Once they reached middle school, Kurt and Mercedes were separated, Kurt went to Lima Town Middle School and Mercedes went to 's Middle School. By now, they were both in the same place again, but after three years of very little contact, they couldn't class themselves as friends as such. Despite this, Mercedes had given him her cell number when she realized he was in her school again, and told him it was 'in case of emergencies' before walking away with a wink and never talking to him again.

Well this, he figured, was an emergency. Squinting so as to be able to see the harsh light of his phone in the darkness,he pulled up Mercedes' contact details and pressed the glaring green dial button. As the phone rang, however, Kurt suddenly thought that it wasn't the best idea to call an ex-best friend that you haven't spoken to in years so they could help you out of a dumpster. Just as the young teen was about to hang up, Mercedes' voice rang out through his speakers.

"Hello? Who is this?" the voice on the other end asked, her sass evident in her tone.

"Mercedes?" Kurt paused, "It's Kurt, you, uh, gave me your number a little while ago." he sounded nervous even to himself.

"Oh! Hey Kurt, what's up?" Mercedes' tone instantly brightened after discovering who was calling her.

"Well, I'm sort of in a situation, and I have no-one else to turn to." Kurt mumbled, barely loud enough for the girl to hear.

"What is is boo?" she questioned softly.

"These jocks from the football team kinda, threw me in he dumpster a little while ago and I, um, think they padlocked it, I can't get out." Kurt tried to keep the panic out of his voice but the situation he was in had just really dawned on him. What if Mercedes didn't want to help him?

"Oh, honey, that's terrible!" Mercedes seemed genuinely upset for him, "which dumpster? I'll get you some help."

"It's by the science block, on the...east side, I think." Kurt squeezed his eyes shut, trying to picture where he was.

"Ok, I won't be long, hold tight." Mercedes hung up the phone and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God Mercedes was a sweetheart.

**LINE BREAK**

Kurt walked down the halls of McKinley, arm in arm with Mercedes. He didn't quite know how it happened, but it seemed that they were at least sort-of friends again.

After he had called her, Mercedes had brought , the Spanish teacher, to help him. They had ended up busting the lid of the dumpster, but assured him that they could be easily replaced. Not that that was something Kurt was particularly looking forward to.

So now, as he chatted animatedly, he realized that if Mercedes hadn't given him her number earlier in the year, he may have still been stuck in that dumpster. If it took two people, one of which being an adult man, to break the lid open, there's no way that he could have done it by himself. Kurt shuddered at the thought of being stuck amongst the rotting garbage until someone came along and helped him, which could have been hours, or even days if he hadn't been able to call.

He wasn't ignoring Mercedes, he just had other things on his mind at that moment, so Kurt didn't really register when she nudged his side and warned him, until it was too late that is. The ice cold slushie flew into his face, leaving clumps of red ice in his eyelashes and tiny shards of ice in his eyes. As soon as he had realized what had happened, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and raised his hands to his face; it was numb.

Unable to control himself any longer, Kurt began to sob in his new friend's arms, who was trying, and failing, to comfort him.

"Hush, honey, it's alright, we'll get you cleaned up and everything will be okay."

Mercedes dragged Kurt through the mostly deserted hallways until she got to the girl's toilets, and then proceeded to lead him in.

"C-cedes," he choked out, "is this the girl's toilets?" Kurt even managed to pretend to be offended when he was crying. Genius. He even used his trademark bitch voice, and that was a skill. _Damn, that boy has serious talent, _Mercedes thought, only half sarcastically.

"Yeah it is, but don't worry, you won't catch cooties or anything." she joked. That made Kurt chuckle, even if it was a little half-hearted.

"I wasn't even afraid of cooties in first grade, I hung around you, remember?" Kurt retorted humorously.

By now, Mercedes had sat him down on one of the stools by the sinks and had started to rinse his hair thoroughly.

"Hey! I did _not_ have cooties!" Mercedes falsely scolded and swiped at Kurt's arm with a hand towel.

"M'kay, whatever you say, 'Cedes." he smirked in what he assumed was her direction although he had no idea because his eyes were still closed.

Mercedes mock gasped and pretended to be hurt before pressing the towel to his eyes.

"Hold the towel here while I sort out your hair." she told the significantly happier-looking boy. He did as he was told and Mercedes rooted through his bag for hair products (he was _Kurt Hummel_ of course he old hve hair products in his school bag!) and was a little sad when she found a bottle of shampoo. _This must be normal for the poor boy, _she realized, but opened the bottle and squeezed some of the contents into her palm nonetheless.

**LINE BREAK**

"Thanks for helping me, Mercedes, I really appreciate it." Kurt said sincerely after they were finished cleaning up and Kurt had styled his hair.

"I don't know what I would have done today without you." Kurt gently took Mercedes' hand when he said that, showing that he was truly grateful because it wasn't often that Kurt made physical contact, he had enough of that already in his everyday life-but unfortunately not the good kind.

"It's okay, you know I'll always be here for you, Kurt." Mercedes replied and squeezed Kurt's hand. They had been best friends right from the start, and it didn't look like any of that had changed between them.

**LINE BREAK**

"Do you remember elementary school?" Kurt suddenly asked at the lunch table later that day. It was a blessing for Kurt to be actually sitting with someone in the canteen that day, rather than finding any possible discreet, unoccupied space to eat his lunch in.

"Part of it yeah, why?" Mercedes replied, she'd secretly hoped he would ask that question at some point, she loved remembering her childhood.

"Well, you know how we were best friends?" Mercedes nodded in answer to the sort-of rhetorical question, "well there was someone else as well, wasn't there, a boy?" Kurt asked, a little guarded. Mercedes frowned, now that Kurt mentioned it, there _was_ another boy, but something happened to him if she remembered correctly, Blaine, she thought his name was.

Kurt took her silence as a sign to elaborate and so he continued,

"I was remembering back then when I noticed your name in my contacts this morning, and I knew there was someone else I was thinking of too. I remember that he was our very best friend, we really loved him, especially me I think." Kurt took a deep breath, "I know that he had to leave one day in second or third grade but I don't know why. I'm not sure I even did then actually. But, anyway, all I remember from the day he left was feeling scared, really scared, and then crying in the middle of the street." he finished, feeling sad and struggling to remember more of that day, or even the boy's name.

"Oh and he had dark, curly hair!" he exclaimed, maybe he could remember, he just needed to try harder.

Mercedes had been listening intently the whole way through Kurt's little speech and she was sure of it now. It was Blaine. Blaine _what, _she didn't know, but it was definitely Blaine.

"Blaine," she said wistfully, sighing. "That was his name, Blaine. I remember that much, but not a lot else about him, sorry I can't tell you more Kurt, I would if I could."

Kurt chose not to take in the second part of the sentence for the moment, instead, he focused on the name.

"Blaine, Blaine, Blaine," he repeated to himself quietly to see if it meant anything to him. His mind paired the image he had of this boy with the name, so yes, that must have been it.

"Blaine, Blaine Andrews? Antony?" He puzzled to himself, he was sure he was close, but none of those names quite fit.

Mercedes looked sideways at Kurt, he was acting a little bit crazy, saying Blaine to himself over and over. In fact, hearing it so many times, the word had lost all meaning to her and had now become mindless gibberish.

"Blaine And-" Kurt cut himself off, his eyes widening and his mouth agape. After a second of pretty uncomfortable silence, Kurt finally cried,

"Anderson!" and practically jumped out of his seat, earning himself a few less-than-kind looks from his peers. Not that that was unusual.

"His name was Blaine Anderson, 'Cedes! That took me forever!" Kurt was grinning from ear to ear. Mercedes loved Kurt, she really did, but who knew one kid could find so much excitement within himself about a childhood friend?

"Kurt, that's amazing, maybe we can look him up sometime this week, but right now, the end of lunch bell has just gone and we're going to be late, come on." she pulled a still-grinning Kurt to his feet and practically threw him out of the school hall and into the corridor.

"Kurt, I have to go to-" Mercedes stopped in her tracks, Kurt was smiling into nothingness, looking like a complete idiot in the middle of the hallway.

"Kurt!" Nothing. "Ku-" Mercedes sighed, she didn't want to have to resort to this, but she had no choice.

_SLAP!_

"Ow 'Cedes! What was that for?" Kurt said, annoyed, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek.

"Sorry white boy, but you were staring into space and weren't responding, I was starting to think you were possessed." she said coolly, with no hint of actually being sorry whatsoever. In fact, she was smirking and trying her hardest not to giggle. Kurt threw her a glare and shook his head slowly, meaning, _you shouldn't have done that, I will get revenge._ Mercedes knew he was joking, but Kurt was scaring her anyway.

"So, uh, yeah, I've got Textiles now and I'm already late, see you tomorrow, Kurt." she said quickly and walked briskly to the creative arts corridor.

Kurt smiled at her reaction and turned to go to Drama, when he felt Puckerman and Karofsky at his side. Literally felt, with a locker slam.

"What have you got to look so happy about, homo?" Karofsky sneered. Kurt didn't answer, this was the longest encounter he'd actually had with the jocks without him being thrown in a dumpster or provoked in a group. They were right up close to him this time, and to be honest, it terrified him.  
>"He asked you a question, lady, so answer it." Puck said casually, his hands in his pockets, but his eyes were threatening.<p>

"I, uh, was talking to Mercedes and we made a joke so-" Kurt struggled to explain himself, but soon found Karofsky with his fist balled up into his shirt, pushing him against the cold metal of the lockers.

"I don't care what's happening in your life, princess, so don't try to tell me." Karofsky barked through his teeth. _What a double standard..._ Kurt thought, _wait, wrong time to be thinking about that. _Kurt's attention immediately switched to the 300 pound lump of meat that was currently hauling him up into the air by his collar.

"I guess you got out of the dumpster this morning," Puck said, still cool and completely casual, "the lid was pretty busted up, I'm guessing you didn't do that all by your little self, right?" he continued patronizingly. Kurt shook his head.

"Thought not, so who helped you in the end, hmm?" he asked, voice seeming almost friendly but face saying otherwise. Kurt only just managed to choke out a few words since he was being practically strangled by a short-tempered hippo with a low IQ for its species.

"Called Cedes...Mr Schue..." Kurt inhaled sharply, taking in as much air as possible. Once Karofsky noticed his face turning a slight purple hue, ho dropped him harshly back onto the ground. Kurt then proceeded to curl up into a fetal position, laying on his side, head tucked in his arms.

"Well, I don't really think we can do anything about them, can we? I mean, a chick and a teacher, two people you really can't get away with beating up." Puck told Karofsky, who agreed with him even though he probably wasn't smart enough to understand _why_ it's a bad idea to beat up a teacher. The two football players then turned away from the curled up, shaking boy and proceeded to walk away, talking like nothing had happened. The only sign they gave that that had even happened was a threatening, "later Hummel," called behind them, though he wasn't paying attention to who said it.

It was then that Kurt realized that, even though he had Mercedes now, she couldn't be around all the time, and besides, he didn't want to put her in any sort of danger. He realized that no matter what he did, he really wasn't safe in this school.

_Welcome to hell,_ he thought to himself, pulling his knees up and hugging them to his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Btw, I don't know if I mentioned it, but in the last chapter there was a line of French with a * after it. I was meant to put the meaning in the AN at the bottom but forgot hehe :) It means "Ah. Mr Anderson, you didn't understand that you had French now and not P.E, no?" roughly translated. I can speak French, just not very well, so sorry if you're French and it was wrong. As usual, I couldn't be bothered to replace<strong>** the LINE BREAKS with actual line breaks... oh well...**


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